Surfing Waves

Hi guys.
You see i recently bought a 6´3 Flyer 2. Unlike the regular flyers this particular one is thinner and narrower for its size: 18 5/8 X 2 5/16

Its not the ideal board for the beachbreak i usually go to, but its definetely more user friendly than a regular potatochip board, even than one with its same measurements.
The narrowness and thinness make it an excelentmedium sized board that excels in chest high surf up to slightly overhead; yet the same factors affect catching small powerless waves.
Dont get me wrong it literally "flies" in every wave it catches no matter how small it is, yet i want a small wave hogger specially for this time of year. Since here in Mazatlan, Mexico during the winter we dont have any large waves at all. Sometimes we do get head high waves at the local beachbreak but they are not not as powerful or consistent as in the summer. These scarse large waves are mostly fast breaking closeouts. While most of the waves lack the strenght to pull you, or are late shore breakers.

Eventhough all of this the flyer very quickly became my board of choice instead of a hybrid funboard that´s collecting dust in my garage. After surfing a shortboard i became so bored with it that I am thinking about selling it. Since im always surfing at this fast breaking beachbreak.


My main question is just how much diference would there be between the 6´3 thinner and narrower flyer 2 i have got and a regular 5´11 or 6´0 19 X 2 3/8 Flyer 1?
Would a fattish, wider Flyer be able to catch less powerful, smaller waves easier?? Would i be able to catch late shorebreaking waves earlier?

I know there are lots of small wave shredders out there, fishes, modern fishers, pods, pills, etc... But i think that the flyer is the board design that will surf as closest as a regular thruster would.
I definetely dont want hybrids/funBoards, oversized smallwave boards or longboards. because i dont like mainly surf at
Anyway i apreciate any sugestions on the matter.

My plan is to sell the hybrid and get a 5´11 or 6´0 flyer for the weakest smallest surf and taking out the flyer 2 for headhigh or more powerful waves
BTW i am 5´10 and weigh 155 pounds, i surf at least 4 times a week.
Thanks for any advice you may have on the matter guys.

Once you get down to those dimensions, it aint the board, its the surfer.

Humm.... Nop no matter how good you are if the waves are crappy and dont have enough strenght it will be way easier to catch a wave on a full volume groveler board, than on a potato chip board.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a thin rail will sink in gutless waves. while a small wave groveler will have less rocker, etc.. to go faster thru sections.

BTW I dont know about you, but even with my little experience i have been able to easily feel the diference between similar lenght boards with diferent volume and rails.


For the record i borrowed a 6´3 X 19 X 2 3/8 Flyer today and I didnt like it at all. It felt as a boat, i would rather get a hybrid or a funbboard than an oversized groveler board.
If i decide to get one i´ll definetely go down to 5´11, my only concern is if there is going to be a significant diference between it and my current 6´3 Flyer 2.
I know that the diference between a flyer 2 and a flyer is like spliting hairs, but keep in mind that the dims on my flyer 2 are way diferent from the standar dims.

My point was that the reason you're not getting on with 'potato chip' boards is because you're not experienced enough. Minor (or even fairly major) changes in the board design wont make any difference if you're still not good enough for them.

The goal of surfing is to catch and ride waves, not to ride the most high performance board.

drowningbitbybit wrote:My point was that the reason you're not getting on with 'potato chip' boards is because you're not experienced enough. Minor (or even fairly major) changes in the board design wont make any difference if you're still not good enough for them.

The goal of surfing is to catch and ride waves, not to ride the most high performance board.

I agree with you on that.
I want a board that will catch more waves. Therefore im looking for a small wave groveler.
I dont surf potato chip boards, not expect to be doing it in anytime soon, otherwise i would be looking for a ksmall or similar kind of boards.

I can handle the flyer 2 quite fine, its nowhere near a potato chip board eventhough it has similar dims it is a very meaty board, but on smaller gutless waves its hard to catch them.

I understand that no board is going to improve my skill.
I am not looking for that, i am looking for a board that would catch more waves but that at the same time would surf similar to a thruster.
Unlike many others i dont like funboards or longboards no matter how many waves i could get on those the rides really dont cut it for me. I already have a funboard and since i got the shortboard i havent used it nor plan to. I respect anyone elses opinions on the matter or preferences.

Pornstar wrote: i am looking for a board that would catch more waves but that at the same time would surf similar to a thruster.

That's what everyone is looking for, but they dont exist.
Only a thruster will surf like a thruster. Anything else is a compromise - and anything that helps you catch the wave (volume, tailshape, length, area) will mean its no longer a thruster and wont surf like one.

The whole trick to catching waves, is to match the speed of the wave. The bigger the wave the faster you need to be going.

Length is the big key to getting speed. I find that volume due to width and thickness can help, but that length is the real decider. This is why the bigger the waves get, the longer the boards get. Also wider boards are harder to turn and pick up a lot of the chop on waves so increased width can be quite a bad thing.

Small waves are..... well they are small..... so they are usually slow moving, you do occasionally get punchy small waves and sucky waves that need that extra bit of paddling to get into them.

So what I'm saying is that you don't need length to help you get small waves, you need volume to get the board up and planing under your weight in slower conditions.

So yes, a smaller but thicker and wider board should do the trick. However the real trick to catching waves is learning where to catch them. The later the takeoff the more speed you usually get. I find that I just throw myself off the steepest section of the wave with my small board, paddling isn't the important part it's doing it in the fastest spot. If you are in the right spot you can even catch waves without even paddling.

As DBBB says, it's all about compromise, by adding one thing you will affect another thing.

In the end it comes down to your ability. Small boards require lots of work when surfed. They need to be pumped, weaved, turned and kept in the pocket. You need to take off in the steepest section and try remain there. You need to be able to do high top turns in the lip and small cut backs etc. to be able to surf a small board in the pocket.

So if you are good enough then the groveller is the board to do this on. If not then you'll need some more time on a hybrid fish to get the knowledge of where to generate speed.

Aloha wrote:The whole trick to catching waves, is to match the speed of the wave. The bigger the wave the faster you need to be going.

Length is the big key to getting speed. I find that volume due to width and thickness can help, but that length is the real decider. This is why the bigger the waves get, the longer the boards get. Also wider boards are harder to turn and pick up a lot of the chop on waves so increased width can be quite a bad thing.

that's why guns are for the badass waves

Seems like it takes surfing on a lot of different boards to start really dialing in what's optimal, and even then it evolves. So buying new boards when you're still looking and evolving to smaller is an expensive option. Try whatever you're stoked by and depending on your budget maybe rent or buy used instead of buying new.

Better to have tried than to not know. Personally, new dimensions and boards really open up new perspectives for me.

jon.biarritz wrote:Seems like it takes surfing on a lot of different boards to start really dialing in what's optimal, and even then it evolves. So buying new boards when you're still looking and evolving to smaller is an expensive option. Try whatever you're stoked by and depending on your budget maybe rent or buy used instead of buying new.

Better to have tried than to not know. Personally, new dimensions and boards really open up new perspectives for me.

yeah, you have to try out quite a few boards until you'll find the right one to your liking